Hondurans and others beyond the border are pinning their hopes on a meeting between ousted President Manuel Zelaya and post-coup leader Roberto Micheletti, but a quick solution to the country's crisis seems difficult.

Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya speaks to the media upon his arrival at the international airport in San Jose, Costa Rica, July 8, 2009. Manuel Zelaya said on Wednesday he would demand the removal of the post-coup government within 24 hours at talks in Costa Rica. Costa Rican President Oscar Arias will welcome Zelaya and Micheletti on Thursday at his residence, kicking off a mediation process between the two sides.[Xinhua]

Zelaya arrived in Costa Rica on Wednesday for the talks. He will meet Micheletti there on Thursday even though the two sides appear to be more opposed than ever.

Speaking to Chilean television on Wednesday, Zelaya described Micheletti as a "gorilla... that history will not pardon" for organizing the first coup in Honduras since military rule ended there in 1982. Media reports have said that four people, all Zelaya supporters, have died in Honduras as soldiers cracked down on rallies against Micheletti.

Zelaya was seized in his bed by heavily armed troops on June 28 and forced to board an aircraft to Costa Rica. Just hours later, Micheletti was sworn in as president.

Micheletti said on Wednesday that he welcomed the talks, but that they should "begin with the premise that Zelaya's return is not open to negotiation."

Iconic arias

The talks, brokered by Costa Rica's president, Oscar Arias, have somewhat calmed the tensions in Honduras thanks to Arias' iconic status in the region.

No other person in the region enjoys the reputation or trust that Arias can command. Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for helping to end civil and international conflicts in the so-called C-4 nations -- El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras. He achieved this by brokering the Esquipulas II Accords

Zelaya's wife, Xiomara Castro, called Arias "an outstanding person."

"We know that, for him, the primary thing is democracy, the right that we nations have to exist and the right we all have to live in peace," she told Costa Rica's Radio Monumental.

Both Zelaya and Micheletti have welcomed Arias' mediation, which will take place at the presidential palace in Costa Rica's capital, San Jose.

Speaking to media there on Wednesday, Arias said finding a consensus between the rivals could be hard considering their "very distant" positions.

"That is why we are going to sit at one table and talk ... it is possible that we find a solution to this crisis in two days, but it could be that there is nothing, even in two months," he said.

Micheletti's government is widely opposed by multilateral organizations including the United Nations. The Organization of American States has expelled Honduras for missing a deadline to restore Zelaya. The Central American Integration System, of which Arias holds the rotating presidency, has also demanded Zelaya's return and cut off access to disbursements or new loans from its Central American Bank for Economic Integration. No government has recognized Micheletti.

U.S. proposal

Another player in the conflict is the United States, where senior officials have already tabled a proposed solution. The U.S. proposal was that Zelaya serves until January, when he was scheduled to leave office, but would in exchange drop his campaign to alter the nation's constitution.

Zelaya was ousted just hours before a planned non-binding referendum asking citizens if they would support an assembly to review the constitution alongside November's presidential elections.

Zelaya's opponents have interpreted the plan as Zelaya's ambition for re-election. The Supreme Court had ruled the referendum unconstitutional.

U.S. President Barack Obama told media in Moscow on Wednesday that "America supports the restoration of the democratically elected president of Honduras, even though he has strongly opposed American policies."

The United States has cut off 16.5 million dollars in military aid to the nation but continues to fund social programs. It has also kept its ambassador in the nation, while most nations have reduced their official representation to the lowest levels.

Faced with such an environment, Arias faces a tough task in reaching a deal. After all, there may be no one better qualified than the man who claims he brought about Nobel Prize-winning accords in just 24 hours of tough talks, analysts say.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2009)